Even though the hotly-anticipated actioner is the sequel to one of Netflix’s biggest-ever original movies, a cryptic tease relating to Chris Hemsworth’s upcoming ass-kicker Extraction 2 ended up backfiring spectacularly on the streaming service.
It all began innocuously enough, with the platform dropping a vague Morse Code billboard for fans to decipher, with the leading man and brutalizer of countless faceless goons furthering the mystery by sharing it with his millions of followers.
However, thanks to the myriad of hugely popular exclusive shows to have been canceled – a list that numbers upwards of 20 fantasy projects before we’ve even mentioned any other genres – bitter subscribers took it upon themselves to complete ignore the initial conundrum in favor of airing their grievances with so many of their favorites being dragged round the back of Netflix HQ and sent the way of Old Yeller.
For what it’s worth, the message translates as “Tyler Rake Lives,” which is hardly groundbreaking considering it’s being used as a promotional tactic for a film that stars Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, who was already confirmed to be alive and well at the end of the first Extraction, with nobody buying any ambiguity that the Marvel Cinematic Universe stalwart had been killed off for a second.
As far as attempts at viral campaigning go, this has got to be regarded as one of the worst to come along in a while from the market-leading streamer, but it’s not going to matter when Extraction 2 arrives in June and proceeds to barrel its way to what’s guaranteed to be an eye-watering amount of viewing hours.
